PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato wants to lower a much-maligned drink tax from 10 percent to 7 percent next year, saying the levy has brought in more than anticipated.

The county approved the tax on poured alcoholic drinks and a $2-a-day tax on car rentals in December to fund the county's $30 million subsidy for its mass transit agency.

"We were doing our best guesstimate back in '07 presenting this budget for '08," Onorato said Thursday. "Now we have some real numbers to look at. ... I think this is a prudent adjustment."

The county had estimated the drink tax would bring in $28 million this year, but through July, it brought in about $21 million with all but a handful of the county's 2,200 licensed establishments paying.

Onorato estimates the drink tax could end up bringing in $37 million this year. The car rental tax is expected to bring in $5 million more. Any drink tax money beyond what the county initially budgeted will go toward road and bridge improvement projects and debt service.

Kevin Joyce, owner of The Carlton restaurant and a leader of the anti-tax group Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation, called the proposal too little too late. Onorato wasn't being aggressive enough in reducing the tax, he said.

Opponents are seeking to get a referendum question on the November ballot that would halve the tax. County council, in turn, sought its own referendum question asking voters to essentially choose between keeping the drink tax and raising property taxes.

Onorato will include his tax cut proposal when he submits his budget to council in two weeks. Councilman Jim Burn said he would introduce a bill to lower the drink tax, adding that a 7 percent tax allows the county to meet the funding needs for which it was authorized.